Archive for the ‘Bus for Sale’ Category

While you may know it as the VW Minibus, “Vee-dub,” or some other name, the iconic VW Kombi may be seeing the end of a 60-year production era, but will still be sought after throughout the world.

It looks as though the market for VW buses for sale will only get fiercer now that the iconic VW “Kombi” has ceased production as of December 31, 2013 at the world’s only remaining factory in Brazil. Safety legislation specifically surrounding requirements for anti-lock brakes and passenger airbags, which cannot be retrofitted to the 60-year-old design, will send the factory’s Kombi workforce to other parts of the plant building other VW models.

History of the VW Bus

It is known by many names throughout the world but most often called a Microbus here in the U.S. Officially known as the Volkswagen Type II (the Beetle was the Type I), the Kombi is one of the oldest, if not the oldest motor vehicle in continuous production. Having first appeared on the scene in 1950, there are more than 10 variations of the Type II. The Kombi is actually one variant produced at VW factories between 1949 and 1967.

The origins of the Kombi go back to Dutchman Ben Pon, a VW importer that sketched out the now iconic design from seeing the beetle chassis that German VW plant workers used to transport parts around the factory. Its official debut came in 1949 at the Geneva Motor Show. Built first in Germany, high demand around the world led to the Anchieta VW plant in Brazil adding the Kombi to their assembly line in 1957.

They first came with the distinctive split windshield design referred to by Kombi aficionados as the ‘Splitty.” This was followed by the “Bay Window,” which was made for the U.S. market from 1968 to 1979. More models followed through to the production shift from Germany, Mexico, South Africa and finally Brazil where health and safety laws finally caught up with the beloved vehicle.

VW Bus Nicknames

The name Kombi comes from the contraction of the German language name Kombinationsfahrzeug, which translates roughly to ‘combination cargo passenger vehicle.’ It is known as “Combi” in Mexico City where it is a vital part of the public transportation system. In Peru, it is called “Combi Asesina” (Murdering Combi) nicknamed for the recklessness of bus drivers in the South American city. Some give it nicknames based on its distinctive shape such as “Pão-de-Forma” (Breadloaf) in Portugal and “Rugbrød” (Rye bread) in Denmark due to its resemblance to a mold-baked bread loaf.

The distinctive name of mini-bus came from the Finish that dubbed it “Kleinbus,” which became a catch-all name for every type of passenger van. Other names include “Campervan” in the UK, “Camping Car” in France, and “Volksie Bus” in South Africa. Kombi was also the generic nickname in South Africa, Swaziland and Nigeria for all vans and minibuses. In the U.S., it is affectionately called everything from “VW bus” and “Vee-dub” to “Minibus,” “hippie-mobile,” “hippie bus,” and “hippie van.”

VW Bus Advantages

Still built primarily by hand rather than today’s robotic assembly, the Kombi is renowned for its reliability, ease of maintenance, one-ton carrying ability, removable seats and ideal setup for camper conversions. Throughout the world, they are still highly desirable as camper travel vehicles.

Despite the fact that many wayward travelers and families look for a used school bus for sale or passenger van to convert for travel as well as business and group transport, nothing beats the vintage look, adaptability and easy maintenance of the Kombi. From Woodstock to the surf set, the camper van’s versatility and affordability made it a 60’s icon for counter culture transport for living, playing, and working.

Today, it is still among the most sought after buses for sale for those looking for vintage camper and travel transport. More than 3.5 million Kombis have been sold worldwide with nearly half of those built in Brazil. It remains the sixth best-selling light commercial vehicle in the world.

VW has built a run of 1,200 Last Edition models, aimed at collectors at a costs almost twice as much as a basic Kombi. Guido Mantega, Brazil’s finance minister reportedly plans an investigation as to whether an exemption from the safety legislation can be made for the Kombi, based on the fact that its original design didn’t allow room for such features.

VW Bus Collectors

The long list of celebrity Kombi owners includes The History Channel’s American Pickers’ Mike Wolf, UK and PBS series Doc Martin star Martin Clunes and boy band One Direction. There are dozens of places to get them restored, retrofitted and talk with other owners in online clubs. That is not to mention VW camper-inspired websites as well as actual Kombi gatherings and shows around the world. While new models may be a thing of the past, it is a guarantee that millions of lovers around the world will never let it completely fade away.

Long before there were gasoline diesel powered engines. Before there were steam engines there was a need to move groups of people from one place to another for work or school or other less pleasant things like transporting criminals to prison.

Walking wasn’t efficient because the group could only travel as fast as the slowest person. Horseback wasn’t always practical because of the expense of individual horses and saddles and when it come to transporting young children it just wasn’t very safe. Wagons worked but usually designed with seats for a driver and a helper or two with the back flat and open to carry cargo.

Modified wagons designed to carry prisoners with walls and a roof to prevent escape date back to ancient times and can probably be considered the earliest form of bus since they were designed to transport multiple passengers at the same time.

The First Public Buses

The first public buses of sorts was invented and put into use in Paris in 1662. The bus and the idea of making mass public transportation a profit making business was the idea of French mathematician, philosopher and inventor Blaise Pascal. With financing and a guaranteed monopoly from the French King Louis XIV a bus system was put in place.

The first specially designed wagons that were used for the purpose of transporting groups of children to and from schools was invented in England in the 1820s. It was a horse drawn wagon with a roof to protect the children from the weather. It carried up to 25 students and was used the Quaker school at Abney Park, London.

Modern motorized busses first came into use in the 1910s as a way to efficiently transport workers from one place to another. Student transportation followed soon and when the yellow\orange school bus was born.

The First School Buses

An early builder of motorized school buses was the Thomas Built Bus Company which started out making street cars in 1916. Other early adopters of school bus manufacture include the Blue Bird Body Company which introduced a bus in 1927.

The first truly modern all steel school bus was built in the mid-1930s by Gillig Bros which later became the Gillig Transit Coach School Bus Company. Yellow became the official color for school buses in 1939 when Professor Frank W. Cyr at Columbia University’s Teacher’s College organized a conference that set national standards for school buses.

The need for school buses and buses of all sorts boomed after World War II thanks in large part to the tremendous growth of suburbs across the country. Suburban developments popped up everywhere to house returning soldiers eager to return to civilian life which included getting to and from work and having families full of children that needed to be transported to and from more distant suburban schools.

Over decades since the end of World War II buses of all types have seen great advances in fuel efficiency, capacity and safety. Modern buses are engineering marvels that are not only more efficient and safe but have larger passenger capacities and are far more comfortable than their ancestors.

Everyday countless people enjoy faster safer more fuel efficient trips in a bus than ever before. For more information about finding a bus for sale visit bargainbusnews.com or call 877-277-7253.

Nothing spurs the intrepid spirit, ingenuity, recycle mania, practicality and design originality inherent to human beings like the bus. From school buses to double decker buses, passenger vans to coaches, these venerable modes of transportation may be the ultimate second-life vehicle. Over the last decade, there has been a dramatic upsurge in people buying them used at fairly inexpensive rates and turning them into homes, restaurants, offices, storm shelters and beyond. It seems that the possibilities are only limited by the imagination.

The concept of turning used busses into motor homes is far from passé even though it has been around the longest. Many people of all ages and occupations have turned the concept on its ear with design and material ingenuity to bring this home on wheels into an affordable reality. Take the architecture student that bought a used bus and turned it into a modern home with two beds, small kitchen and bathroom as part of his final presentation for his last semester in architecture school. After a fifteen-week conversion process, he and his friends took the affordable but modern home on wheels on a 5,000 mile road trip.

The finished home, which they took from a used bus purchased for under $5,000 along with an investment of an additional $5,000 for materials can be seen at his website Hank Bought a Bus along with pitchers of the trip they took to break it in. Many people are encouraging the former architecture student to make it a business by helping people convert their own used buses into sleek, modern mobile homes with all of the amenities for a fraction of the cost of a traditional motor home.

The idea of making the project one that is easily repeated by novices is nothing new as a quick search on the internet can reveal a number of websites that take you through the process from start to finish, including what to look for in a used bus. One such sight, BobSokol.com shows the reader how to convert a school bus into a motor home.

This growing practice is a practical approach in an age where budgets are tight, green recycling is more of a driving force, and housing can be problematic at best. The growing trend is happening all over the world as evidenced by the recent article in the sustainable design publication Treehugger.com. The article focused on two women from Even Yehuda, Israel that recently converted a decommissioned bus into a modern yet comfortable and affordable home. Their goal is to propose an affordable living alternative in a country where housing access is a hot-button issue. Just over 2,500 miles away in England, this video of a Canterbury couple that turned a double decker bus into a home shows how the Brits might do it.

Here in the U.S., an AOL Real Estate blog profiles a San Francisco couple that saw the bus as the template for an energy efficient home design. They incorporated all of the necessities and luxuries with custom and handmade furniture as well as Ikea pieces altered to fit the bus. The home, which sleeps ten and has six solar panels bought off of eBay for $200, allows the owners to live completely off the grid paying only $100 a month in maintenance. These are only some of the stories of average people reimagining the American Dream.

Buses can actually make for a variety of highly feasible structures. Take the bus that was converted into an underground storm shelter to provide tenant safety during severe storms for a trailer park that was profiled in the online newsmagazine America Now. The ten coolest homes made from vehicles article in the entertainment blog Oddee.com is, not surprisingly, made up mostly of buses and vans.

Lest you think that this trend is only about homes, there are a growing number of stories about people converting buses into other usable spaces such as offices and restaurants as well as high-end mobile restaurants such as The Roseberry. There seems to be no limit to the possibilities for affordable, high quality and versatile bus conversions. A great article in School Transportation News shows and discusses a variety of fantastic conversions of old school buses. They include everything from ambulances that can be used in community disasters, to mobile markets.

While they were once seen as a fringe idea enacted by bohemians and earth mothers, the architectural design and mobility possibilities of bus conversions have entered the main stream. Today, average people from all walks of life and all ages are embracing the possibilities of the used bus. With thousands of buses of all shapes and sizes available at affordable prices, we may be witnessing the emergence of a new design and use aesthetic pointing to the future that will join an unbroken line of inventive structural and mobility reuse stretching back for centuries.

So you want to be a rock and roll star. That means hitting the road and going on tour which can be very expensive. Touring is even more expensive when you don’t get it right. Musicians will tell you that being on the road can be a great experience full of incredible stories, but when the tour is over, all that’s left is a lot of debt.

A successful tour requires planning in order to keep expenses down. Carefully calculating all the tour expenses in advance will help you make sure that your anticipated income is at least enough to allow you to break even at the end of the road trip. Airfare and van rentals can add up in a hurry, especially when you realize that you will always have extra baggage charges because of your gear.

One way to limit those expenses is to consider finding your own tour bus for sale, rather than relying on airlines and rental agencies. Owning your own tour bus means that calculating your costs will be a lot easier since you know how much your bus costs to operate. And there won’t be any surprises for extra bags and unavailable van rentals.

Baggage fees add up quickly for a four member band when you consider that only your first bag may be included in your airfare. The second bag will likely be $50 and the third any more bags than that are likely to be $100 or more. Consider that even a small drum kit requires four or five bags at least. That’s not including amps, guitars and merchandise to sell at shows.

The costs roll up fast. Airports are also expensive places to eat. Traveling by a tour bus for sale means that you can carry your own food with ease saving you money that you would otherwise spend at expensive airport restaurants.

Not all venues are near the airport either, and expensive mileage charges to rental vans can add up in a hurry. Imagine that you have gigs booked in Colorado Springs, Denver, Fort Collins ,and Cheyenne Wyoming. That’s a stretch of 170 miles. In a rented van that charges by the mile, that’s extremely expensive once you tack on gas and insurance. It’s even more expense if you have to do a one way rental so you can fly out to your next gig in Montana.

The bottom line is this: if being in a band is going to be more than a hobby, you have to think like a business person as much as you do a musician. Thinking like a business person means understanding that sometimes the initial cost of buying is less expensive in the long run that the cost of renting.

The business learning curve may be tough, and may not be why you wanted to be in a band in the first place, but making smart business decisions that save you and your band mates money is the surest way to keep rocking on for the long haul.

Take your band on the road with your own tour bus for sale and save money in the process. Find out more about how a tour bus for sale can work for you by visiting bargainbusnews.com or call 877-277-7253.

You’ve made the decision to buy, own and operate your very own tour bus, congratulations! This is a big step that you won’t regret and one you will get years of pleasure from. The thrill of hitting the open road, free from the cares of the everyday world as you cruise down the highways and byways of North America exploring hidden treasures and famous landmarks.

Not so fast. There are rules and obligations that you must adhere to before you can start to live your dream and in most states it is mandatory that tour buses carry liability insurance. Liability insurance protects bus owners and drivers against the cost damage to property and people caused by the bus. Liability covers the owner of the bus and the driver, if it is someone other than the owner.

Liability insurance coverage can vary from policy to policy and from state to state but as a rule they cover bodily injury, BI for short, and property damage for injuries and damage that are the fault of the tour bus driver. The insurance company and the police are the ones that make the decision about who is to blame and if both parties are what percentage of responsibility each bears.

Tour bus liability insurance is governed by individual states and not the federal government so minimum coverage requirements may be different from state to state. Usually the state where the bus is kept when not in operation is the state which determines the insurance requirements. Coverage in excess of the required minimums is can be almost always be purchased for an additional premium.

Tour bus liability insurance is generally issued in two forms, combined single limit or split limit. There are important differences to the two types of coverage and it is vital that you understand what they are and make your decision based on which form provides the best coverage for your needs.

Combined Single Limit – This type of tour bus liability insurance combines both the bodily injury and property damage coverage into one total limit. This means that if your tour bus is involved in an accident the bus and driver will be covered for all damages to people and property up to the policy’s limit.

Combined Single Limit – With this type of coverage there are two separate limits for damages caused by the tour bus or operator, one for bodily injury and one for property damage. Since the limits are separate once the limits have been met for one, unused coverage from the other can not be used to make up the shortfall in the other.

Uninsured and Underinsured – These coverages protect against you and your tour bus against damages caused by someone\something other than your tour bus when they do not have enough insurance to pay for all the damage they caused. This coverage kicks in when the accident and resulting damage is the fault of the other person.

Collision and Comprehensive – Because tour buses are not inexpensive many owners opt to purchase this coverage to protect against damages to the bus caused by a collision with another vehicle or object, such as an animal. Comprehensive coverage extends the coverage of the insurance to damage caused by things like hail, road hazards, and vandalism and usually has a deductible associated with it.

Bargainbusnews.com has the perfect tour bus for sale waiting for you. For more information about how to get your own tour bus for sale visit bargainbusnews.com or call 877-277-7253.

The “Continent” is the way they used to refer to Europe in old black and white movies is still a richly diverse collection of countries and cultures worthy of visiting. Traveling to and around Europe can get to be quite costly. Jetting from country to country can easily transform a dream trip in an expensive nightmare. Train travel that was once a bargain is now often more expensive than flying, what’s the alternative?

Traveling Europe by bus may mean the difference between the trip of a lifetime and staying home. At the very least touring Europe by luxury bus can mean seeing more of the continent and saving money at the same time. From the mysterious Black Forest of Germany to the soaring Italian and Swiss Alps deluxe motor coach travel is making a comeback in a big way across Europe.

Saving money on your European vacation begins with getting there in the first place. Flights are less expensive when you travel from major hub to major hub so consider making starting your journey from a major US hub like New York. Incorporating a visit to the big apple may be less expensive in the long run they trying to fly directly from say the mid-west.

Your dream trip may include Croatia but it doesn’t have to start or end there. Consider flying into an established European hub such as Rome or Paris to start your vacation. You certainly won’t be lacking things to see and do when you arrive in your hub city and the airfare savings can be substantial enough to extend your trip by days or countries, your choice.

With a little advance planning traveling around Europe by bus can be extremely rewarding because it will afford you the opportunity to see more of the countries you visit than you would at 35,000 feet. Well planned bus travel doesn’t have to add up to lost time either. Planning to travel from locale to locale overnight is a great way to maximize your time on the ground and because buses can deliver you directly to city centers or countryside locations while you sleep there is no wasted time getting to and from airports.

North, south, east or west, which part of Europe do you plan to visit? Divide and conquer is not just a brilliant military strategy it is a great way to travel. Unless you are blessed with unlimited time for your trip trying to squeeze every corner of Europe into a single visit is not a good idea.

Consider dividing the continent into overlapping quadrants so that you can fly into say Munich Germany which would be in the Northern Quadrant and from there head further north through Scandinavia or head south through the alps into France, Spain and Italy.

The ideal of bus travel is to take advantage of the flexibility of scheduling and the ability to easily visit places that are off the beaten path for a more authentic view of Europe than you would get going from airport to airport.

Bargainbusnews.com can help you find your own bus for sale so that you can enjoy travel around our continent on your own schedule. For more information about how to get your own bus for sale visit bargainbusnews.com or call 877-277-7253.

First, take your predicted number of passengers into consideration. A common tour bus size is a 25-passenger shuttle bus. Of course, you can go much larger than this, but you will no longer be driving on a 1-ton chassis, which makes driving a whole other adventure.

Knowing a budget ahead of time is also helpful. Those who have a tour bus for sale will be motivated to sell – but perhaps not always honest. Just like a car, take things into consideration like condition, mileage, any issues that will need to be addressed post-purchase, etc. Take your time to make an honest evaluation of the bus you’re looking at, and stay within your price range. On the other hand, remember you often get what you pay for – make sure your budget is reasonable. A quality second-hand bus usually runs between $15,000-30,000.

Next, decide what type of engine you want. Diesel is great because they tend to run much longer. A diesel engine will often take you up to 500,000 miles on its original parts, while a gasoline engine will only go about 300,000. However, when it’s time to replace an engine, diesels can be twice as expensive. For those who run a small-scale operation, gasoline engines tend to serve their purpose more efficiently than diesel in the long run. Other vehicular basics to consider include automatic versus manual transmission, the condition of the air conditioning system, and what type of bus seats are installed.

Finally, know the legalities before purchasing a tour bus for sale. Different regions in the United States hold various tax rates and fees. However one thing is always the same – you pay your taxes when you go to the Department of Motor Vehicles to license your bus. Do not pay any sort of tax to the seller of the bus, regardless of the company or organization. This includes sales from an individual. Drivers are also required to have a license that fits the specs of the bus. A class B license is for operating a vehicle that weighs more than 26,001 pounds. Class A and Class C are sometimes required in lieu of a Class B. Consult with your local DMV or look online to discover what the rules and regulations are in your area.

Bio: Tom DeFulvio is co-owner of Buses for Sale in Springfield, PA. Whether you’re local or in another part of the country, this dynamic discount bus sale company can help you find the vehicle you’re looking for. Buy, sell or browse a wide selection, including the latest tour bus for sale.

With a total order of over 220 new buses, 90 of these come from a new Prevost bus for sale – the X3-45. Some of these buses will be rolled out this month, while the rest will hit the road in 2014. When the order is complete, Greyhound’s entire fleet will be almost completely made up of buses that look and feel like new.

The current Prevost bus for sale that was picked up by Greyhound includes many amenities like upgraded safety features and environmental technology. Passengers will experience modern conveniences like Wi-Fi and easily accessible power outlets. Extra legroom has been taken into consideration, along with three-point safety belts and wheelchair-friendly access. Combine this with clean-diesel, low-emission engines, and people can feel good about riding the bus and helping the environment at the same time.

Greyhound purchased the Prevost buses in part to further expand their Greyhound Express service. This is currently the largest budget-friendly city-to-city bus service in North America, with many fares starting at a single dollar. Other buses will join the ranks at BoltBus, a discount service run by Greyhound.

Riding the bus has never been more convenient and comfortable, and Greyhound continues to be the leader in travel technology and customer satisfaction. If you’re looking to save money on gas for either your daily commute or one-time excursion, consider checking out their competitive ticket prices and full list of amenities at greyhound.com. Prevost buses have long been known for their quality and reliability, so adding more to the Greyhound family only seemed natural.

Bio: Tom DeFulvio is co-owner of Buses for Sale in Springfield, PA. Whether you’re local or in another part of the country, this dynamic discount bus sale company can help you find the vehicle you’re looking for. Buy, sell or browse a wide selection, including the latest Prevost bus for sale.

Alternative energy and fuel efficiency consume most of the green headline space but going green is about more than that it’s about the less glamorous business of sustainability. Sustainable practices in manufacturing school buses for sale are the real secret force to going green.

School Bus

Greening up in the school bus for sale business is about finding ways to not only save energy but to reduce waste and is often unknown by the public until a spotlight in the form of an award or public acknowledgement is made of the efforts. When it comes to manufacturing a school bus for sale not all green initiatives involve exhaust emissions.

Just like a conscientious individual manufacturers can also make a difference by reducing and reusing rather than dumping and wasting. A great example is Collins Bus Company which at one time only recycled scrap metal. Through green practices Collins has reduced its contribution to landfills by 90% and include recycling cardboard which generates enough revenue to more than offset the cost of having scrap wood recycled and reused.

Companies like Collins Bus have begun participating in mentoring programs whereby they bring in other companies and provide first hand tutorials on recycling, water conservation and waste reduction. By showing how they reduce and reuse in the process of making a school bus for sale they are able to show others how to incorporate these best practices into their own operations.

Other school bus for sale manufacturers are also incorporating in the three Rs, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle into their production. Thomas Built Bus, Blue Bird, IC Bus and others have all found that waste reduction efforts pay off in more ways than they imagined.

Thomas Built Bus Company became the first school bus for sale builder to achieve Zero-Waste to Landfill status. That means that everything they brought or produced was used, reused, recycled or sold. That’s quite a task and it earned them the 2011 Environmental Steward Award from the North Carolina Department of Environmental and Natural Resources.

Thomas Built Bus found that going green was good for more than the environment it was good for the bottom line as well. By doubling the amount of wood recycled and almost tripling the amount of paper and cardboard recycled helped the environment reducing its water usage by 42% and cutting its electric use by 6,891 kilowatts added to the company’s profit margin.

The addition of 4,000 watt laser cutters enabled them to eliminate 5 other machines and reduce the cost to fabricate parts by 25%. The lasers provide greater precision and lower costs partly by reducing waste which saves on material and recycling expenses.

The manufacture of school buses for sale is a highly competitive business and building a better product for less money benefits everyone concerned. It is a win, win situation where the environment benefits from reduced waste and pollution, children and schools benefit from safer school buses for sale and the companies themselves enjoy a healthier bottom line.

Sustainable school bus for sale manufacturing is one more way that industry is evolving to meet the needs of the communities they serve and improve their business at the same time. For more information about how to buy a Prevost bus for sale visit bargainbusnews.com or call 877-277-7253.

The President of the United States travels securely and in style. Most people do not know just how secure the President Obama’s presidential limousine actually is? For obvious security reason much about the presidential limousine and its accompanying vehicles may never be known but a great deal is. While you may not want to trick out a shuttle bus for salewith the same security as is available to the president you can try.

Shuttle Bus

Shortly after President Obama’s second inauguration some details about the presidential limo were made available to a press corp and public hungry for more information about this incredible vehicle. The limo, which is no ordinary shuttle bus for sale, is known unofficially as “The Beast”. Like any beast this one has an almost insatiable appetite for fuel and gets about 8 miles per gallon.

The doors are eight inches thick and made from a combination of titanium, steel, aluminum and ceramics. Its armor is so thick that not even sound from the outside gets into the driver’s compartment or the passenger cabin. To overcome this disconnect from the outside world the limo is equipped with microphones on the body so that the occupants can hear what is going on outside the belly of the beast.

The Beast features a night vision camera to provide a clear view of risks lurking in the shadows. In the event of fire the presidential limo has an on board firefighting system. Just like the family car or a shuttle bus for sale President Obama’s limo has run flat tires and steel wheels which means you won’t see the President on the side of the road changing a flat tire any time soon.

The limo is equipped to be a safe sanctuary from more than just bullets and explosives it also has a lock down mechanism that renders the interior completely safe from the threat of biological or chemical attacks. The President may not be James Bond but his car has a Bond-inspired camera that allows the driver to see through fog and smoke.

The James Bond features of the Beast also include infrared smoke grenades which can surround the vehicle in a fog that makes targeting rockets, rocket propelled grenades and other weapons difficult at best. This super limo would not be complete without a state of the art encrypted communication system to communicate with the other 45 vehicles in a typical presidential motorcade and the outside world.

In the unlikely event all the defensive systems fail and the President is injured in an attack inside or outside the car the limo carries an unreported quantity of the President’s blood in case an emergency transfusion is required.

You may not want to trick out your own shuttle bus for sale like the Beast but you can certainly add state of the art audio, video, mood lighting, wet bars and more. For more information about how to find a shuttle bus for sale visit bargainbusnews.com or call 877-277-7253.